Metal furniture.



l. M. WEGE.

METAL FURNITURE.

APPLICATION' min fis. 2a. Isls.

Patend Jan. l, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

PETER M. WEGE, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR T METAL OFFICE i FURNITURE COMPANY, OF GRAND RAPIDS,- MIC'HIGAN.

METAL FURNITURE.

To all whom it may coizcem:

Be it known that I, PETER M. VWEGE, a

i of the type which can be Ybuia E to any desired height or length `at will, t

furm

ture`bein formed from various standard parts whlch` may be roperly positioned with reference to each o er and tied together to form a oemletewhole. to make an article.

of-y furniture a apted for use either in 'stores to carry'articles of merchandiseor in house-` holds as a book-case. or the'lke. It is the ob'ect and purpose of 4thisinvention to rov1 l ea furniture construction of'this Ac ar,- acter which may be made entirely of sheet metal of light weight but which `is fashionedl in suchmanner, as tobe of great strength and durability'and ableyto withstand the usage to which it shall be'subjected. .Further objects and purposes of the Ainventloncon sist in variousnovel features of construetion as will more fullvI appear un'on understanding' being-had ofthe embodiment dief. 'closed in the accompanying drawings, in`

which Figu the furniture taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fi 4 is a front elevation of the parts used in building a complete article of furniture of this character, shown separated.

Fig. 5 is a plan of the base used.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of an end member and the iinishmg panel therefor.

Fig. 7 is a lan view of the shelf, a lurality of whic are used in each article of furniture. Y

Fig. 8' is a transverse section thereof.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged plan of a fragment of oneside and end of the shelf.

Fi 10 is a perspective view of an end mem er.

v Speoiilcation of Letters Patent.

re 1 is a front view of one end of the Y furniture, the doors therefor not appearing.

Fi 2 is avertical sectional view taken onl the line 2-.2 of Fi 1, and looking'in the' distance an V diate supporting posts between the ends.

Patented Jan. 1,1918. .Application led February 23, 1915. Serial No. 9,9113.V i i Fig. 12 is a transverse section through the front of one of the shelf members' showing the mounting of the sliding doors;A and t Fig. 13 is a transverse section through. the

VtopA used to finish4 the furniture.

ike reference characters referto like parts throughout the several views ofthe drawings. In the construction'ofthe furniture shownl .there are provided a; plurality of shelfmem.- bers 1, each formed of sheet lnblald., at

each side ,thereof'be'ing fashioned .withI a plurality 4of corrugations 2, 35,' 4 and 541s shown, each side terminating in a .d ownwardl turned I:ledge 6. The corrugations 'exten the y full length oftheshelves Aand serve to give ,them strength yan rigidity. Eachshelf at ea'ch transverse bar f1'. Vof sheet metal,',a 4deonneeted at its ends tothe dpwn turnvv ledges 6, being spaced from the endsjof the shelf a short distance Lto makel alongslot asiiifz dicatedat 8. Also at each end of the'fshelf av pair of openings 9 are 4providedspaced a end is provid ,:withj a@ short distanoefa]- :rt while at.y the point'ofeach` shelf similarpairsfof openi gsil 9 are provided ,as best shownin I *`ig..7. '.v f The' base for the furniture ccinsists-'ofparallel sides `10 of,"v angle iron, the ends'E which are -connected together by an le members 11, the frame thus forme being.

supported at .each orner by posts 12` alndrefV inforced at the in ddle by transverse bracesI 13 which also In: J beofangle ironj nasi sembling an article of furniture a'. sl 1elf`isY located; above the base, the upwardly yextending legs ofthe angles 10 Vbeing received in.

`the groove formed by corrugations 'whil'e the upwardly extending le of the members 11 are received immedlate within thej end bars A'i' of the shelf, the she f in this;ma'nner being attached to the base against `endwise or sidewise movements.

End members arev provided eachconsist ing of a body 14 havin a width substantially equal to the widt 4of the shelves 1, said body at` each edge having a section 15 turned at ri ht angles thereto for a-short then turned inwardly at 1 6 parallel to the body 14 for a distance finally terminating in a bead 17. At the up er Aside the body 14 isnarrowed and exten ed up- Wfdly Short distance as shown at 18 being thegshelf and uthroughl all-of the openings at Supportin posts are also required intermediate the' ength of the shelves and each' consists of a central section having bent at right angles at each edge thereof the sections 21 which also terminate in the beads 22, as best 'shown in' Fig. 1 1.

The topv which is used to finish the upper side of the furniture consists of a sheet metal plate 23 turned downwardly at its sides and ends as indicatedat 24 and 25, the portions 24V being bent toward eachother as shown so that when applied to the Aupper shelf .member 1, the downwardly extendmg edges thereofwill be received in the grooves formed by corrugations 4 while the sections 25 will pass through s1ots8 lying between the ends of the shelf and the members 7.

In building an' article of furniturea base is provided and a shelf placed thereon in the nanner heretofore described. Then ateach end -of the shelfa'n end member ofthe character shown in v4Fig. 1'0- is placed, itsv lower extendin edge passing into the slot 8 and bein-g frictionally held between 'the end .of'

the"shelf and the cross members 7. Small rods 26: having vpreviously vbeen inserted thrculgh'the inner openings 9 at the ends of the center of the'shelfextend upwardly and thebeads 17 pass 'overland receive, the end rods 26 'whilethose located midwaythe length of the shelf are each received by; beads of the central supporting posts been attached together with a. front andrear supporting post the second shelf may be put inplace,` its openings 9 receiving the uprods .26 and its `under surwardly extending face at the ends earing on` the inwardly extending ledges 19 of the end members. This process may be carried on until'the article of furniture'has reached the desired height.

the uppermost shelf members 1 being placed 'in position after which nuts may be threaded on to the upper ends of the'rods 26 binding theparts together. The final step in making the article of furniture is the application of the top as previously described.

The furniture thus constructed is tied together so thatit may be moved as a unitary structureto any place desired and this con;

struction will be preferred inl stores wherel the furniture is used in the center of the store, the rods 26 being cut the proper length for any desired number of'shelves. When the furniture is built alon resorted toconsisting in making the rods in mediate' supporting pos the' '.tofore described. After a pair of ends have the side of a store,.however, a slight mo ification may be.

22 and having each joint between the ends of the sections of rods coming at a point .between two shelves 1. In this waythe furniture may be carried as high as desired .without reference to any particular length one shelf to another and having the rods 26 passing through the outer openings 9 in the shelves and through the beads 22. In this manner the furniture is extended to any desired length using a plurality of inter- A back may be provided to close the space between any two shelves 1 consisting of a sheet metal section 27 having its upper edge turned outwardly as at 28 and its lower edge turned inwardly as shown at 29, these edges vbeing received by the groove in the'corru-v gation 5' of .the upper' shelf and of the corrugation 4--of the lowerv shelf respectively4 as shown in Fig. 2. At eacli end each back has an extension 30 bent at ri 'ht angles thereto and projecting forward -to pass beyond the sections 16 of the end members, being then bent Vagain at right angles to' passalongside the-` bead 17. .'In

this manner the back of the furniture may be closed if desired, these backs being placed i'n proper position as-the article of furniture is being assembled. 1

It may be desirable to cover the space between the beads 17 of the end members and to this end -I have' provided a panel consisting of a bod 32 bent at each endas shown at 33, 34 an 35 to fit between and 'be 4held by the beads 17 of the end members to which it Vis applied, When placed' in position a smooth and unbroken appearance is made adding to the value of the furniture from4 the standpoint of design and bein especially of value when furniture of this c aracter is used in the home, for instance, as a bookL case. The front of the furniture will be closed by sliding doors, each consisting of a sheet metal frame 36 at its upper edge formed with the U-shaped extension 3,7 bent forwardly `from the body and at its lower edge into .a similar extension 38 bent rearwardly, the lower portions 38 riding on fillers 39 of angle formation positioned in the grooves formed in corrugations 2 and 4 of the shelves while the upper extensions 37 areadapt'ed to lie in the grooves of the corrugations 3 and 5. It will be apparent from this construction that two Adoors may be aplied at each side of each the. interior of the furniture. It will also be noted that the upper edges of the doors extend onlya short distance into Athe'grooves of corrugations 3 and 5 permitting the ready removal andreplacement of the doors by merely elevating them sufiiciently that the lower edges ma he4 carried over the corru-H g'atlons at 3 an f5. Any s uitableglass Vfront "may` be applied to the doorsfso that visual' in ectionof" the'jinterior of the furniture j I an thecontentscarri'ed thereby' maybe had.

It willbe evident that doors may be ap-` pliedto 4 4e1ther..sic le of the' 'furniture -thugs madefand such"'will be the construction from the walls,fthe backs bein Y. store walls.`

. such member is-readily applicable in a' very I y'simple-manner to. the base, andit may be used ta supportsiidin theatta'chmentofa simple and economically am ahmedisa-escoba l doorsvery simply and; .easllyipermlttmg t e ready detachment of the doors; it also may be used for the attachmtof a-clo'singbackwhile at the same time the uppershelflendslitself readily for constructed top', the shelves also frmftheirformation bemg reinforced and y abetocarryloads without' ui'idulyjuincreasing the"thickness of the material .which they are made. The

constructionlmade `is very economical in manufacture, there. being required but few parte, manyoflwhich are duplicatesand all of'whichlmaybestampedand formed from.

sheet metall` A In this oonnectlon it may be noted that the construction lends itself readily to the -building of-'otherj types of4 furniture than, shelv.- ing or cases suc'has countersor the like.. Accordingly I do not wish. to bellimited to the preclse ,disclosure made, but consider' myself entitled to-.allmodiications in construction falling withinf'the v.scope of the appended claims defining the invention.

1. Metal furniture including a shelf member formed. from-sheet metal and having a plurality of corrugations at each side thereof extending the full' length of the shelf and a transverse bar secured at its ends at each end of the shelf member andslightly s aced from members apart, means tying the shelf and end members together, and doors slidably mounted in the grooves -formed by the corru- 4 most shelf member.

gations of the upper and lower shelf members, substantially as described.

3. Metal furniture comprised of a plurality of spaced apart shelf members,each formed of sheet metal' with a'plurality of corrugations at each side-thereofl andhaving at each'end a transverse bar connected at its end's to the shelf member, ,sheetme'tal end members at'each end .ofjth'e shelfinembers spacing them'ap'art and havin -`extensionsat then"`low`er` ends `I:pa'ssin tween. the' transversefbars Vandthe en slof ythe'shelf i members, means detachably cnnectn "the j shelf 'andi4 end members together, and acksof Vsheet metal located between vtliefsheli' members atene side thereof, each havmgan 'inturned lower edge andan out-turnedrupper edge seated in the grooves formed by the corrugations on the under and upper sides respectively of the shelf members, Substantially as described.

4. Metal furniture comprised of shelf i bers, each formed-of sheetmetal and formed with corrugations, at each side extendingf thefull length thereof, end .members spacing the shelfmembers a art `mean`s, detachably resting on said4 fillers and having their. upperl edges received inthe grooves `formed by the -corrugations in the underside ,of `the 'shelf member 'next above, substantially as de` scribed. f .i i

. 5. Metal furniture comprised l.of shelf members and end membersfspacin'g saidshelfv members apart, means connecting the shelf: and end members together, Vlcorru tions f formed in the shelf members atieac side and e'idaending` the full length thereof, a base .having upstanding sides received in grooves formed by said corrugations on the underside of the 'Ylowermost shelf lmember and a top having downwardly extending side .edges received inthe grooves 4formed by said corrugations in the upper side of the Aupper-l 6, In combination, shelf members, end members for' vertically. spacin 'the shelf members apart, means detacha y connect- -ing the shelfand end members together, su

porting postsV positioned'bet'ween the she f members between the end members, each post comprised of a channel of sheet metal having the edges of the flanges thereof formed into beads, and rods extending through the shelf members and beads of said posts detachably connecting them together.

7. In combination, sheet metal shelf members, sheet metal end members inte osed between the shelf members and spacing them apart vertically, each end member being comprised` of a body having right angular extensions at its front and rear edges, said extensions being bent toward each other for theconnecting the shel an vend members to y" a distance and then formed into beads, Aa panel of sheet metal comprised, of a body having a width equal substantially to the distance between sald beads and at each edge formed with angular extensions each off which isagain bent outwardly parallel tol said body 0f the panel, and inserted back of said beads, and rods Aas'sin through the shelf members and bea s of t e end members to secure them togetherand hold the panels in position.

8. In combination, shelf members, eidl members spacing said shelf members apart one abovethe other each end member being comprised of a body of sheet metal having in presence o sections at the front and rear edges bent at r1ght angles to the body for a distance and then inwardly parallel to said body and termlnating in vertical beads, rods extendingthrough the shelf members and heads to connect said shelf and end members together,

and 4a. panel filling thespaee between vthe beads of each'end member and interloked therewith between 'the shelf members. In testimon whereof I ailix my signature two witnesses. A I l PETER M. WEGE- t Witnesses: l

-FRANK E. LIvmNqm, Jr., LEWIS DE Bols. 

